Various one-time programmable (OTP) devices have been provided and used in the semiconductor industry. The OTP devices can be, for example, mask read only memory (Mask ROM), electrical programmable ROM (EPROM), etc. An e-fuse OTP device uses a fuse element connected to a pull-down transistor. By selectively blowing fuses within an integrated circuit, which has multiple potential uses, a generic integrated circuit design may be economically manufactured and adapted to a variety of customer uses.
Fuses are incorporated in the design of the integrated circuits, and are selectively blown, for example, by passing an electrical current of a sufficient magnitude to cause melting or agglomeration, thereby creating a more resistive path or an open circuit. The process of selectively blowing fuses is referred to as “programming.”